This week sees the release of one of the most exciting movies of the year – Te3n directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. After last year’s award-winning performance in Piku, Amitabh Bachchan returns with this Sujoy Ghosh produced whodunit  based on a Korean movie Montage, with Kolkata being the setting once again. Does the desi version of the Korean movie make a mark? Let’s find that out.

The film starts off with a flashback event featuring Inspector Martin (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) and John Roy (Amitabh Bachchan). This is then followed by the religious daily visit of John Roy to the police station to meet Inspector Sarita Sarkar (Vidya Balan), regarding the kidnapping and killing of his granddaughter Angela Roy. The story then swing back and forth between the past and the present. Amidst all this, there also exists the story of the guilt filled Inspector-turned-Priest Martin Das, the very man who was in charge of Angela Roy’s case. While the police department including Inspector Martin Das gives up totally on the Angela Roy’s case, John Roy simply refuses to do so and vows to his wheelchair ridden wife that he will not take rest until he nails the innocent Angela Roy’s dreaded kidnapper and murderer. Around 8 years later, there occurs a kidnapping of a school going kid Ronny. The mysterious part about this kidnapping is that, it is totally similar to that of Angela Roy. That’s when the trio of Father Martin, Inspector Sarita Sarkar and John Roy set out to search the masterminded smart criminal. While Father Martin and Inspector Sarita Sarkar go the legal way, John Roy, despite his old age sets out on his own to nab the criminal. What happens after that are a series of twists and turns, which ultimately leads to a shocking revelation in the end. Does John Roy fulfil the promise that he had made to his wife, do Father Martin and Inspector Sarita Sarkar become successful in nabbing the culprit and what is the shocking revelation in the end is what forms the rest of the story.

Ribhu Dasgupta has done a brilliant job in handling the tight script and the veteran actors at the same breath. He stays true to the tone and genre of the movie and therefore one might find the proceedings going a bit slower in few scenes. Performances are top-notch whether it is Amitabh Bachchan or Nawazuddin or Vidya who try to get into the skin of their respective characters.

Music is average and considering the genre one might have very less expectations. The cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray is wonderful. He captures the essence of Kolkata through his camera. Editing by Gairik Sarkar could have been tighter at certain portions (but no complaints considering the mood and tone of the movie).

On the whole, Te3N is a movie that will appeal to hardcore whodunit fans!

My Verdict: ***1/2